Mother Earth and Father Sky
by Kieli
Summary: AU, 2nd Lt Willow Rosenberg is caught in the war for her life and her heart while stationed at China Beach during Vietnam. W/T Slash
1. Default Chapter

**Title**: Mother Earth and Father Sky  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the gentle souls in this fic, though god knows I wish I knew them.Mutant Enemy and that wanker Joss Whedon get credit for their creation. I'm just fantasizing a little.  
**Rating:** Hmmmgood questionlet's be safe and say PG-13.  
**Spoilers: **Well, none that I know of. This is just my little world. Very AU.  
**Summary**: 2nd Lt. Willow Rosenberg is assigned to China Beach and meets up with a mysterious Air Force nurse who saves her life and changes her view of the world forever. The gang shows up here (just imagining Anya in uniform had me both giggling and interested) This is for all of the female military personnel (both European and American) who gave their lives in Vietnam:  
(Vietnam Women's Memorial). Thanks to Rona's wonderfully in-depth knowledge of British military history for the help on the UK military personnel serving in Vietnam.  
**Copyright information: **All characters are copyright of Mutant Enemy, the story itself is copyright property of Dark Delight Scriptions and may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express permission of the author. Copyright infringement is a federal offense and infractions will be prosecuted to the fullest intent of the law. 

_0700 hours, 1968, China Beach_

_She walked along the empty streets wearing nothing but a flak vest and a very well worn pair of "Jungles", the ripstop jungle uniform and ventilated jungle boots used frequently by US troops. Fires licked the frames of smashed windows and overturned busses. She felt the tight grip of a hand within hers and she realised that there was another person with her, someone who felt the icy fear trickle through her veins just like she did. Turning her head slightly, she saw the blond woman next to her with tears streaming down her face as her clear blue eyes surveyed the carnage before them. VietCong soldiers were running in and out of buildings rounding up the men for conscription into their army and killing those who resisted. _

_"This wasn't supposed to happen,"the blonde whispered softly. "They told us we were safe. Didn't we just go through all of this?"_

_She found that she lacked the words to comfort the weeping woman. Lifting her battered Leica from its place hanging about her neck, she looked through the lens and clicked. She had pulled her head back from the camera to get her bearings when the grim face of a soldier appeared abruptly before her. He lifted the butt of his rifle to her face, growling angrily at her in Vietnamese and the darkness swallowed her whole._

2nd Lt. Willow Rosenberg awoke suddenly, a thin sheen of sweat covering her body from the humidity, even at that early hour. She shuddered involuntarily as the invisible tendrils of her dream clung to her like her moisture soaked uniform. Heaving herself up from the cot she appropriated in the Motor Pool (which was the only quiet place when there was partying going on near the mess hall), she wandered over to the open hole someone jokingly called a window in the side of the corrugated tin building. The early morning surf lapped quietly along the pristine shores of China Beach, the sun's rising stained the sky a purplish hue. Drawing in deep draughts of the clear sea air, Willow tied on her jungle boots and headed toward the ghostly white dunes.

The Vietnam conflict had escalated with the Tet Offensive in Saigon and the not even the popular R&R spot for multinational soldiers was immune to the pall of unease that settled over the continent. The collection of makeshift bivouacs in this small seaside base were practically filled to capacity with soldiers who were either recuperating from their injuries or taking some much needed leave to relieve the tensions war often brings. Lt. Rosenberg had originally been assigned to the MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam) in Saigon with the Marine Corps in early 1967. But when the Tet Offensive in January of 1968 made things in the city more than a little dangerous, her father, Major General Ira Rosenberg of the 3rd Marines in Da Nang, called in a favour, got Willow's MOS changed to "ground photographer" and had her assigned to China Beach to sit out the war in relative safety. While she had studied aerial photography at Quantico, she'd hoped to see a little more "action" as an officer. Daddy dear poured cold water on those hopes real quick. General Rosenberg had nightmares thinking about his only daughter trapped in some field hospital near Saigon when the fighting got ugly.

Wandering aimlessly in the surf, Willow ran her fingers through her unkempt mane of short red curls. Normally she didn't care about her appearance but when it came to her hair, she was vanity incarnate. She practically howled in frustration when her silken locks were shorn for OCS. Now Willow was glad they had done it as it had grown back thicker and more manageable than before. She cast a glance toward shore and noticed a lone soldier sitting in the sand, apparently watching her. Quirking a curious eyebrow, she left the water and plopped herself down beside him.

"Find anything interesting out there?" Willow asked.

"Nah," the soldier said with a smirk. "Just a buncha fish and some skinny chick."

"Very funny, Corporal Harris." the redhead commented wryly. "I might make it so that you'll have KP for the rest of your life, you keep that up." Corporal Alexander Harris was her childhood friend from Sunnydale where they grew up. They were both very competitive with each other and even entered the Marines to see who could take the constant pounding the most. After boot camp though, Xander preferred to be company of his squad buddies doing the "manly" stuff so he and Willow drifted apart. She went off to Officer's Candidate School and he found himself in the 3rd Marines leading a squad of very green infantrymen. He was badly wounded during an ambush and found himself here in China Beach feeling lucky that he wasn't dead or sent stateside for the rest of the war. Mostly he was glad for the opportunity to revive his friendship with Willow.

"Now now, Willowerm, I mean Lieutenant," he corrected himself, wincing underneath her withering stare. "You know I'm just kiddin' "

"Yeah yeah, tell that one to someone who believes you." She poked her toes into the sand and began wriggling them around. "Have you seen Buffy around? Thought she'd be up by now."

"Nope. Think she was out on patrol again last night. Heard she helped drag in a group of wounded ANZACs. They were pretty shot up." Xander noted as he stared out into the churning surf.

"Greeaat. That means she'll be extra special moody today. Remind me to look up that Sgt. Angelus she met while on leave in Bali. I think she needs some TLC from the guy and a little vacation herself," Willow stretched languidly. "Chow time. Ready for some breakfast?"

Cpl. Harris was just about to answer when the loud thump thump thump of medivac helicopters filled the still morning air. Shouts of "Incoming wounded!" popped up around the encampment as litter bearers and military nurses poured out of the makeshift military hospital on the base.

Willow and Xander looked at each other with sorrow in their eyes. It was going to be a long day.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	2. Into the Mouth of Madness

_**CHAPTER TWO - INTO THE MOUTH OF MADNESS  
**  
0730 hours  
April 10th, 1968, China Beach, "Hell's Half Acre"_   
  
Lt. Rosenberg thought that she'd seen her fair share of death and dying, but nothing came close to the chaos that awaited her and Cpl. Harris when they burst through the swinging doors to the makeshift triage room of the 95th Evac unit. She's managed to tag along with an occasional ANZAC or US Marine patrol to get reconnaissance photos and the occasional photo to send to Stars and Stripes. If the good General had found out that his daughter was risking her pretty neck against his orders, he might have just blown a gasket. But Willow had been feeling guilty about sitting behind a desk while others were doing their part in more constructive ways, even if it cost them their lives.  
  
The screams of men and women in pain shocked her into action. Some were writhing in agony; others were nearly comatose and bleeding from every possible place on their bodies. Nurses and doctors in various stages of blood-stained uniforms were flitting from bed to bed, making quick assessments and tagging the wounded according to severity of their injuries.   
  
The stench of blood commingled with the sour smell of sweat and tears hit Willow in the chest like an errant wave. She just stared in disbelief at the level of carnage before her. Xander turned and gave her a determined look, "I'm gonna go see if any of my guys got hit. Will you be ok?"  
  
She nodded briefly and he dashed off, barking orders to a couple of PFCs standing nearby. Nurses were running back and forth between doctors and patients with an economy of movement that was startling considering the maddening atmosphere. Willow soon figured out why that was. In the midst of the entire fracas, a pretty blonde Marine Captain was calmly directing the flow of traffic; her voice quiet and comforting amidst the noise. Apparently, she was a new arrival because she was still wearing her dress greens, not minding that they were covered in someone else's blood. Willow was impressed at this woman's demeanor; calm but still radiating an air of authority and command.  
  
"Kaki?" the blonde called out to the nurse closest to her who was tending to a greenstick fracture, the poor victim growling in pain.  
  
"Yes, Captain?"  
  
"Make sure that Matty and Sgt. Brock get sent straight back to Dr. Kozlowski. They're only fairly bad off and he needs a breather anyway…he won't need to be in surgery for hours with them."  
  
"Yes, Captain," the nurse replied with a brisk nod.  
  
"Oh, and Brynn?"   
  
"Yes, Captain?" came the reply from across the room where a slim brunette in fatigues was applying a tourniquet to an unconscious nurse who'd been badly wounded.  
  
The blonde knelt at her side, her blue eyes deeply troubled. "How's Kate doing? Think she'll hold up?"  
  
The brunette brushed her lightly over the pale nurse's forehead; unshed tears glistened in her eyes. "I sure hope so."  
  
The blonde placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "Let the orderlies take her to Dr. Giles. He'll take good care of her." The nurse nodded and motioned to the orderlies to carry her litter into OR 2.  
  
Willow watched the scene from a corner of the room where she had been gathering bandages and cotton wadding for the makeshift stations set up around the cluttered room. She once again marveled at the quiet strength that the blonde exuded. Taking a deep breath, the redhead walked up to her with every intention offering to help out. Clearing her throat, she attempted to get the officer's attention.  
  
"Ahem, hi," Willow croaked. _Good job, genius,_ she winced inwardly. _You sound like an axe murderer._ "Lt. Willow Rosenberg at your service, Captain," she held out a free hand for the blonde to shake. The Captain turned, gave the redhead a gentle smile and took the proffered hand.   
  
"Capt. Tara Murphy MaClay. This is only my second in-country assignment. What a welcome," she commented with a wry smile. Willow shivered as an odd sense of déjà vu ran through her. The blonde gave her a questioning look. "Are you ok?"  
  
Willow shrugged. "Yeah, all of this," she said as her dark green eyes swept about the room. "It can be tough to deal with sometimes. I don't think I've ever gotten used to it."   
  
Tara glanced over at nurse covering the body of a now deceased young soldier with a white sheet. "I hope we never have to," she said in a near whisper. Her eyes had a haunted, faraway look in them.  
  
Willow felt a twinge of sympathy in her chest for the young captain. "I'm going to go give OR 5 these bandages. There anything you need me to do after that?"   
  
Tara snapped out of her reverie and tried to focus on what Willow was saying. "Hmm?" she asked distractedly.  
  
"Do you need me to help out around here?" Willow repeated.  
  
"Oh! Oh sure! It's going to be a long day and night, I think. We're going to need all the help we can get."  
  
The redhead laid a comforting hand on Tara's shoulder. "Give me a minute and I'll take you to the nurses' quarters so you can change. It's going to get unbearably hot soon, oceanfront property or no," she chuckled wryly.  
  
The blonde gave Willow a tired but grateful smile. "Thanks, that would be great—"  
  
A loud bellow from across triage cut her off mid-sentence. Lance Corporal Osborne was standing in the door with blonde woman in jungle fatigues, her blood soaking his uniform as well as her own. "Hey! We need a gurney out here! Gunny Summers is hit real bad!" It was the last thing Willow heard before she hit the floor.

**TBC...**


End file.
